The present invention relates to displays that provide three-dimensional images to a viewer and more particularly to methods and devices that allow a two-dimensional display to provide three-dimensional images from a single display.
Two dimensional images are commonly displayed on flat display devices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRTs). However, there is also a need to view images of three dimensions, or of apparently three dimensions. For example, applications of gaming, merchandising, mechanical design, entertainment, etc., all have a use for three-dimensional images which allow a user to see objects and images having greater realism.
Several types of devices have been devised to meet this need. One type of device allows the left eye and right eye of a viewer to see slightly different images to provide the effect that the viewed image is in three dimensions, corresponding to depth perception. One image corresponds to what the left eye should see, and the other image corresponds to what the right eye should see, so that the images differ in perspective by the distance between the viewer""s eyes and create the three dimensional effect.
Different images can easily be provided for each eye if two displays are used, one for each eye. However, if a viewer is viewing one display, the display of different images for each eye is not as straightforward. One device that can provide this effect for a single display is 3-D glasses, which the user wears over his eyes to allow an eye to see its corresponding image on the display, but not allow the eye to see the image intended for the other eye. For example, some types of 3-D glasses provide filters which filter out a specific color of the image for one eye that is intended for the other eye, where the displayed image has been specially prepared so that each of the two colors in the image corresponds to what the corresponding eye would see. Other types of glasses may provide polarizing lenses or electronic shutters that allow each eye to only see the image intended for it on the display.
However, 3-D glasses can be inconvenient or cumbersome to wear for the user. Some devices have been devised to allow the viewing of 3-D images on a single display without glasses. For example, some devices impose a grid of vertical strips between the viewer and the display, and an image is displayed which has two different images corresponding to the vertical strips so that each eye of the viewer sees the corresponding image. But the existing devices for providing the blocking grid are expensive, such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) shutters, and require sophisticated manufacturing processes, thereby providing a significant obstacle in a low-cost consumer market.
The invention of the present application provides an apparatus and method for displaying three-dimensional images with a display device. In a first aspect, an apparatus for allowing the viewing of three-dimensional images using a display device displaying two-dimensional images includes a blocking grid and a drive system. The blocking grid is positioned between the display of the display device and a viewer, and the drive system oscillates the blocking grid in accordance with the display of a plurality of images. Each image is aligned with the grid and each image is structured such that each eye of the viewer sees only a displayed portion of a displayed image intended for that eye, thereby creating a three-dimensional effect. In a second aspect, a method for providing three dimensional images using a display device capable of displaying two-dimensional images includes creating a plurality of composite images, where each composite image includes portions of two separate images, each separate image taken from the perspective of one of the eyes of a viewer. The composite images are displayed on the display device, one at a time, at a display frequency, and a blocking grid is oscillated and is positioned between the display of composite images and the viewer such that each eye of the viewer sees only the portions of the composite images that are intended for that eye. In a third aspect, a system for providing three-dimensional images includes a display device and a blocking device. The display device is capable of displaying two-dimensional images and is caused to display a plurality of composite images, where each composite image includes alternating portions of two separate images, each separate image portraying the perspective of one of the eyes of a viewer. The blocking device is positioned between the display device and the viewer and includes a grid that is oscillated in accordance with the display of the composite images. Each composite image is structured and aligned the grid such that each eye of the viewer sees only a displayed portion of the composite images intended for that eye through spaces in the grid, thereby creating a three-dimensional effect.
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for displaying three dimensional images using a single two-dimensional display, and without the need for the viewer to wear special glasses or similar device. Furthermore, the present invention can display total images for both the left eye and the right eye, with minimal amounts of the images blocked, and the apparatus is of low cost and efficient in operation.